Think Big, Start Small, Move Fast

The title of this post is often referred to when talking about IoT-projects. But what do the three statements mean and how can you apply them to your project?

Mission & Objectives: Think BIG

If you are going to start running, you better know where to. So, first thing is to outline your mission and objectives. This is a tough exercise as many IoT projects have the potential to shift your business plan. So, if you want to get the most out of your project, this must be done on a company level by the people actually running the business.

Strategy: Start small

Your strategy defines how you get to where you want to be, but every journey starts with the first mile. Failing fast and cheap is essential. Taking small but significant steps at the beginning of your IoT project enables this. So, start with a Proof of Concept (POC)

There are two main ways to start small:

Take a project with a broad potential application, and augment it with a small technological step forward. It’s the “low risk, low gain” approach. But, by broadly applying the solution the low gain gets multiplied to a level where it becomes significant to the business.

Select a single non-critical activity which you can redefine end-to-end. Despite not being critical, success should have a measurable, visible impact. It must be measurable to adjust the process as needed. Visibility will make the project into a beacon for future developments.

Tactics: Move fast

Speed is key. Especially in large corporations projects tend to go slow. But this is lethal for innovation. Keeping up the pace has multiple advantages:

People are motivated; if your team sees the change on a daily basis it will help them stay focussed.

Costs remain under control; the sooner you can correct issues, the less expenses have been made.

Conclusion

Of course these three simple rules won’t suffice to properly manage your IoT project. But they are a basic sanity-check on the way you handle your project.